A friend sent me the link to an interview with Charlie Rose and James Franco. As you would expect with any interview Rose does, this one is more focused on Franco’s book, Actors Anonymous, and insights about why Franco always seems to push himself harder than most actors of his generation. At the time this interview was aired Franco was studying for his Ph.D at Yale, in English Literature.

You can view the full interview here. I had no issues watching the full interview with that link on my iPad. However, I did have a few with my PC and I’m not sure why. So if you are using a PC and you can’t see the interview in full, you can check out clips, here.

I think it’s interesting for authors to watch how Franco responds to some of his critics. He also takes a few swipes at bloggers, which I also found interesting because it’s all very friendly. There are nasty bloggers for profit out there. Most of whom don’t get it when someone is real and not trying to screw around. And the only way to deal with THEM is to keep it real.

There’s a law in California that allows transgender kids in schools to use the bathrooms of their choice, among other things important to the well-being of transgender kids. There’s been a group trying to challenge that law, hoping to repeal it, but they’ve lost ground thanks to a technicality involving signatures. Once again, this can all be traced back to NOM, The National Organization of Marriage, an anti-gay group that would rather have us all go back into the closet so they can pretend we don’t exist.

NOM president Brian Brown (pictured) has claimed the law was part of a wider conspiracy to end traditional gender roles in the United States and has claimed that allowing transgender students to use showers and bathrooms according to their gender identity is damaging to children.

Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center, expressed relief that the referendum has not qualified for the ballot and is hopeful a full count will not alter that result.

‘As we wait for a full count of the signatures we will continue to help schools implement policies that ensure all students are able to participate, and we will continue to share the stories of transgender youth and their families,’ Davis said.

Why NOM always feels so threatened just passes me by. Whether they like it or not traditional gender roles in the US are changing and it has nothing at all to do with gays. In fact, I sometimes think there’s more gender politics in some gay relationships than there are in some straight relationships. And whether we like or not, most gay relationships are adapting to more traditional heteronormative lifestyles in ways that often frighten some gay people from a cultural POV. I’ve proven that myself in several of the parodies I’ve written on hetero romance films like An Officer and HIS Gentleman.

This is also why we need legislation written up that can’t be challenged so easily.

Mean Girl Parody

Speaking of parody, there’s a video out where gay men do a take off on the film, Mean Girls, that shows how this kind of parody can be done. The mean girls are the Ken Dolls. But there’s a fundamental problem with it I mention below. And it falls into the category of “so you thought you knew all there was to know about gay men.”

From the mind of Todrick Hall, the genius who brought us “CinderFella,” comes “Mean Boyz,” a parody video to celebrate the cult classic “Mean Girls,” which will have its 10-year anniversary this April.Unfortunately, for those who don’t know the real inside info on gay culture, this also hits a little too close to home for any gay people who have ever lived in what’s considered a “gay ghetto.” And the parody aspect of this video loses ground because it really can be like this with gay men in any “group” situation. I’ve seen this before, too, and you’ll just have to trust me. I’m just keeping it real. I have known some gay men who can rival the nastiest, most vicious mean girls who have ever walked this earth. There are even a few right here in New Hope (smile).

Author of over 100 published LGBT romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. Hates beets.
New Hope, PA Palm Springs, CA
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